Santa Barbara Santa Barbara Ceramic Tile

Price per tile. Ships from San Diego, California within 2 business days.

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Description

Specs

Customer Reviews

Matching Colors

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The Making of Santa Barbara Ceramic Tiles

For many decades tile has been an essential, vibrant, and expressive element of California’s Spanish-Revival and Mediterranean architectural styles.

Ceramic tile, particularly hand made and hand decorated tiles, can be found in historic buildings in places such as San Diego or San Clemente; in seaside estates like Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, or Malibu; in canyon villas, such as Rancho Santa Fe, Beverly Hills, and Hancock Park; and bungalows, particularly in Pasadena, North Park (San Diego), and Palm Springs.

Tierra y Fuego’s Santa Barbara ceramic tile collection evokes the California landscape, with a combination of vivid and subtle colors offset by neutrals and matte finishes. It is this combination of mattes and gloss finishes in a vast array of colors that our Santa Barbara ceramic tile becomes rich, vibrantly alive, and harmonious.

Tierra y Fuego’s Santa Barbara ceramic tile collection exhibits many different colors and designs to choose, to inspire, and allow you to create your own pattern. Our ceramic tile is handcrafted and decorated by hand using an ancient method called Cuerda Seca that literally translates to dry cord.

The technique of making Cuerda Seca tile has been used for centuries in Spain and other Mediterranean countries. The depth and richness of the colors are obtained by painstakingly applying every drop of glaze by hand onto a delineated design.

If your next project includes the installation of tile in a kitchen, bathroom, stairs, fireplace, fountain, patio, entryway, or even a coffee table, consider Tierra y Fuego’s Santa Barbara ceramic tiles to create a lavish and elegant ambience. The sensuality and sophistication of our tiles is the result of the human touch that has created them.

Order your sample tiles today to experience the true nature of Tierra y Fuego’s tiles. We recommend you to touch and contemplate them in order to effectively appreciate their uniqueness and high quality.

PLEASE NOTE: the Santa Barbara ceramic tiles are not frostproof. If they are intended to be used in high humidity areas, we recommend the use of a penetrating sealer, specially on matte finish tiles.

The technique of making Cuerda Seca tile has been used for centuries in Spain and other Mediterranean countries. The depth and richness of the colors are obtained by painstakingly applying every drop of glaze by hand onto a delineated design.

Raw tile bisquets drying. When dry they are ready be to deliniated with the outline of a particular design, and then to apply all the tile colors.

The elements in the formula of the outlines resist the flow of the glaze placed in the spaces between the lines of the pattern in the design, leaving a dry line visible as the glazes are dried on the surface of the tile. This process is known as the “cuerda seca” technique meaning “dry cord”. Originally the Spanish and Moors used animal fats and grease as ingredients to make the dry line and separate the glazes.

The design of the tile is then traced on the surface of the tile using the ancient method called Cuerda Seca, or Dry Cord. The formula used to trace the design acts as a liquid repellent which will keep the colors from mixing.

Glazes are similar to glass and are made from glass-forming materials, such as silica, alumina, and lime with various mineral oxides added for coloring, such as iron (tan), copper (green), manganese (black), uranium (orange), nickel (brown), cobalt (blue), chromium (red), and antimony (yellow). This ingredients are mixed in a finely form. Our Santa Barbara Malibu style glaze formulas are made only by experts who have spent years at our factory developing them. This a complicated process since we constantly use matte and glossy glazed finishes within the same tile.

Showing bulb syringes; used to inlay glazes onto the tile.

Artisan applying the different glazes onto the outlined tile design. Every single drop of glazed is painstakingly applied onto a tile by hand. The glazes have to have the right thickness: if too thin, the color would break; if too thick the colors would run together or overrun the tile. It takes months of training to become efficient at decorating tiles with a syringe.

Artisans apply the different glazes onto the outlined tile design.

Artisans apply the different glazes onto the outlined tile design with great care and attention to detail.

The tile is then fired at approximately 1850° Fahrenheit. During this process the elements in the “dry line” are fused to form a charred dry line separating the glazes.

When the tiles are removed from the kiln the black line makes a contrast with the brilliant colors of the gloss and matte glazes complementing the design, giving life to unique beautiful tile.

This is the same technique used by the legendary Malibu and Catalina Potteries of the 1920s. Tile from these potteries can still be found in many historical buildings in Southern California one such example is the Adamson House in Malibu, which displays an impressive collection of Malibu tile. This state house was designated as a Point of Historical Interest in 1985 and is open to the public.

Santa Ynez 3 Santa Barbara Ceramic Tile

Cornice Molding: Yellow Quartz Matte - Santa Barbara Ceramic Tile

Yellow Quartz Matte Santa Barbara Ceramic Tile

Santa Barbara Santa Barbara Ceramic Tile

Specifications

Description

Size

Due to handmade nature, tiles may vary by up to 1/4 in. Sizes are nominal, meaning that sizes vary from the actual.

Color, Size and Design Variation

Slight variations are expected for all Santa Barbara Tiles. For instance, size, color and design are all likely to vary due to the hand made process. PLEASE NOTE: shades of color are seen differently on computer monitors and therefore customers should request a sample before making a final selection or purchase. Lot variation in size and color may be present from shipment to shipment. There is no guarantee that tiles ordered as add-ons will match those from the original orders.

Tiles per Square Foot

Size

Tiles needed per square foot

1x1

81 tiles

2x2

36 tiles

3x3

16 tiles

4x4

9 tiles

6x6

4 tiles

** The following is an estimate number of tiles you will need per square foot. The amount of tiles needed per square foot varies according to tile size and shape. This is a courtesy estimate and we recommend to double check measurements and tile quantities with your tile expert installer as you may need additional pieces to account for cuts and breakage.

Body

Red body bisque. May be slightly concave or not perfectly flat, but overall the Santa Barbara ceramic tiles are consistently flat.

Finish

May include gloss, matte, or matte-gloss glaze finish. The Santa Barbara solid field colors will include the finish on its name. For the finish of the decorative tiles please refer to the matching colors tab to find out the colors and finish included within the tile.

Suitable for all interiors of residential and commercial wall applications. Light-use flooring as accents or as a border to define an area. Avoid high moist areas in all matte tiles. If used in moist areas, apply a penetrating sealer which forms an invisible barrier that is resistant to moisture and stains while allowing vapor to escape. Outdoor use is temperate climate only. Santa Barbara ceramic tiles are NOT frost proof.

Recommended Grout Type and Width

1/4 in. grout line suggested. Use sanded grout when doing grout lines of 1/4 in. or more; and non-sanded grout when less than 1/4 in. We recommend to seal tile before grouting and to seal grout after installation. For further advice, contact your professional tile installer.

Installation Recommendations

Lay out material prior to installation to properly blend and balance color. Due to size variation, we recommend to shuffle thru several boxes before installation. The application of a penetrating sealer is recommended in accordance with the sealer manufacturer’s instructions to further enhance the durability of the tile. Note: Always perform a sample test on an inconspicuous area, before applying the sealer on an entire tiled surface.

Care Recommendations

Clean with mild cleanser and damp cloth, do not use abrasive cleaners.

How Much Extra Tile to Order

Industry standard recommends adding on 5-10% additional tile to the tile needed to account for waste, special cuts, or other unforeseen problems. This is particularly important in complex installations. Specially with diagonal patterns.

How to Order Tile Samples

You may order samples online or by phone. Sample must be purchased and shipping charges apply. When ordering samples please keep in mind there is no guarantee tile samples will match future orders do to the handmade process.

Product Reviews

Lovely Pattern by Charlene Mendoza (Tucson AZ US)

I ordered this pattern in several sizes in order to decide how to use it best in our space. We love the pattern, the variety of colors make it very versatile. We decided on the 2X2 tiles because the pattern is so pretty. We opted for the configuration that looks more like a flower than a cross. I highly recommend this pattern if you want a clean, versatile, modern take on a talavera type of pattern.